Mac Pro :: Replacing 2006 Mac Pro ?
Sep 25, 2010
I currently have an original 2006 Mac Pro (dual 2.66GHz) which has served me well over the past 4+ years but I'm thinking that the time has come to look for a replacement.
Here are the replacement machines I've been looking at along with my thoughts...
2010 MacPro - 2.8GHz Quad
While I like the price point ($2500), I'm not sure how much of a performance boost I will get over my current machine. Also the processor architecture is the previous generation (Nehalem vs Westmere). Is that a legit concern?
2010 MacPro - 3.2GHz Quad
Once again, chip architecture and performance (to a lesser extent due to the higher clock speed) are concerns but $2,900 is doable from a financial standpoint.
2010 MacPro - 3.33GHz Hex
This is the one I really want but $3,700 is out of my price range.
2009 MacPro (Refurbished) - 2.93GHz Quad
This configuration drew some interest when I saw it in the refurbished section of the Apple Online Store mainly due to the $2,500 price tag.
The computer will be mainly used for graphics creation/editing (Photoshop) and web development (Dreamweaver) as well as for web surfing, e-mail, photo and music management and MS Office applications. I also run Parallels because there are a couple of applications that I need to run that are Windows-only.
So my question to the MacRumors' community is which of the above machines would you recommend or should I just stand pat with my 2006 MacPro and wait for the next refresh.
I did consider an iMac but the 21" is a little underpowered IMO and the 27" will not fit on my desk.
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Sep 5, 2010
I have a 2006 Mac Pro and I'm wondering if CrossFireX is possible on this system. Specifically with two 5770s.
My understanding is that CrossFireX requires two PCIe 2.0 16x slots. However, the 2006 Mac Pro only has PCIe 1.x slots, and with two cards, it's only possible to have its slots running at 8x. Does this prevent CrossFireX from working at all, or is it simply a case of it working fine but running at reduced performance?
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May 26, 2012
My mac pro won't display anything. I've had a look at this [URL] and one of the first things I did was reset the PRAM & NVRAM. The 10.6.8 install is fully updated. The startup chime plays and fans run normally.Â
I have:Â re-sat the RAM,cleaned the RAMcleaned the insideremoved all the HDDs except the main oneand even used another Raedon 4850 in place of mine.Â
It starts up in Target-Disk mode fine, I am using it with my iMac now but it is not the same (iMac is only dual core andhas half the RAM) I've tried several screens; DVI, VGA and HDMI all without luck. It's obviouslt out of warranty and I don't want to take it to a Apple store anyway as I ocassionally build & repair computers myself so am fine with trying anything out.Â
Things I could do/ haven't done:Â Remove/ replace the Logic Board battery?test the power I/O?start in Safe Mode?
Info:
Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Also Bootcamp Windows 7
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Jun 22, 2012
MacBookPro 2006 While cleaning the keyboard, the tab key came completely off. Nothing is broken, the little plastic thing is still in one piece. I can't seem to fit it all back together to get the tab key to stay in place.Â
Info:
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)
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Jun 7, 2009
I was wondering it it was possible to buy a LED display off eBay, and replace it with my LCD panel on my current Macbook (late 2006 C2D 2.0). There is nothing wrong the LCD, I am just curious as of whether or not it is possible.
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Oct 24, 2010
I've currently got 12GB of DDR2 667Mhz of RAM in my 2006 Mac Pro, could I use 1066mhz DDR2?
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Oct 27, 2010
Does anyone now if there are available power ports on Mac pro 1,1 logic board for some additional fans, without running cables down from the optical drives.
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May 5, 2009
I have decided to upgrade the stock 7300GT on my Mac Pro. I have three choices:
)ATI Radeon HD 2600XT
)nVidia 8800GT
)ATI Radeon 3870
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Feb 1, 2010
I purchased my macbook in 0ct. of 2006, and was wondering how I could tell how much ram I could put in it. I currently have 1gb of ram installed. My macbook is 1.83 ghz intel core duo.
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Mar 19, 2012
Just a white screen after Apple logo and spinner in middle of screen. OS is 10.6.8.Â
Info:
2006 MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11)
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Apr 28, 2012
I need to ship my old iMac to my father who lives on east coast and I'm from CA. Long tim ago I throwedoriginal box away. And now I have a problem how to mail the desktop to him.
Info:iMac
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May 2, 2012
So I was using my early 2006 MacBook (1.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, tiny amount of RAM) to view a YouTube video, and it froze (gave me rotating rainbow thingy). Since this happens often, I got up to put the computer on the table and do something else. When I picked the computer up, the power cord caught on the table and was pulled off of the computer. Since the battery is 100% dead, the computer shut off abruptly. I've also done this before without trouble. When I go to turn it on, however, now the screen flashes white for a split-second (normal), and I get a gray screen. Eventually, I get a flashing folder with ?. I've tried reseating the hard drive, and pressing down various keys when it starts up, but to no avail. I have a Genius Bar appointment tomorrow, but I was wondering if I could fix it for free... I'm not sure what OS it is, but it's OS X Tiger, I think.
Info:
MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)
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May 11, 2012
I have 10.6.8 running on a 2.66 GHz 4 core machine made in 2006. What is the most current Nvidia card that I can use?
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Jun 3, 2012
i have a Mac Pro from 2006 with an NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT videocard.Can i replace this with another videocard so i will be able to play new games on the Mac.If yes, what videocards is compatible with my computer Processor 2x2,66 GHz Dual-core intel xeon Memory 3gb
Info:
Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4)
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Nov 7, 2007
Just this AM my G5 slowed down in the middle of a job, I restarted and that was it. Dead HD. I call apple care and took it to the apple store where they suggested I buy and install a new HD.
So, I'm thinking I'll buy a Maxtor 300 MG.
The question(s): The instructions on replacing the drive (from apple support) say to make sure and buy an ATA that is 3.9 wide if adding an internal HD but it doesn't say what to buy when replacing.
Do I buy SATA? If so, will it fit (they're 3.5 wide). Do I need to buy anything else? Will my old G5 have any trouble with the new HD?
Information:
Power Mac G5 1.6 ghz
Mac OS X (10.3.x)
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Nov 28, 2009
I ordered the incorrect iMac, I originally wanted the i7 processor. Can the processors be swapped in or are they soldered to the motherboard? Would Apple stores do this type of work or do I need to find someone else? I've replaced RAM, cards, hard drives on my Window's PC's before but I know the Apple iMacs are much more difficult to repair and dis-assemble, but I'm willing to give it a try if there are very good instructions.
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Jan 10, 2008
I have decided to downgrade to 10.4 on my G4s but the only thing I hate about 10.4 are the icons and Xcode 2.5, well I don't hate 2.5 but I love 3.0. So I figured the least I could do is change the icons on the 10.4 systems. Anyway, I want to know how to transfer icons, using candy bar 3.1.2 probably, from 10.5 to my 10.4 systems. Anyone know how, this early in the game? I thought I could just save a container of 10.5s and open up in 10.4 and blamo, but instead no go.
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Dec 19, 2010
So recently I found a cheap powermac G5 on ebay and won the deal and all, but when the computer arrived it was horribly dented. It was packed with on piece of under a 1/2" Styrofoam. In the end I got a full refund for the computer and the seller just said that I could keep it if I want it. So I wanted the thing on my desk so I went ahead and bought another case for it. Now here's the question, has anyone done this or knows how to do this? I want to keep all of the internals inside for it not to become a month or so long project in my spare time. I am not sure on a tool that would let me get up into the edges. If you want to see some video of the unboxing of the case and at the end some footage of the dented one and how bad it is go here.
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Jul 16, 2009
I recently took apart my macbook to see if I could get my wifi antenna nudged to work better. It does seem to be fixed, but when I put the laptop back together the inverter cable shorted to the frame, smelled like burning electronics and stopped working. However, I put a new inverter in and it is not fixed. I was careful to note that the second inverter did not create any smell, but the screen did not even light up for a second. The LCD IS still working, as I can see everything on the screen if I shine a light on it. Except for no backlight, the computer works fine. What could possibly be wrong, and what are my options?
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Oct 16, 2008
I am trying to upgrade my hard drive on one of the new MacBook Pros. MBP ships with an ATA hard drive but on NewEgg all the larger hard drives (400 - 500 gigs) are SATA. Am I limited to only ATA hard drives or will these SATA work as well?
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May 6, 2012
My son broke the LCD screen on our older Macbook. Only the upper screen is visible. It looks like a LCD screen can be purchased for about $100 and is quite difficult to install. Can I ask the forum's opinion if it is worth replacing this screen? He will be entering college in the Fall and will need a PC. It's the only mac that runs on 10.6 instead of 10.7.
Info:
MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
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Aug 28, 2010
I have a 2006 Core Duo MacBook. I shut it down the other day and nothing unusual happened. But, now when I push the power button there's no response at all. Nothing. No lights, no response, no chimes, no screen flicker.Yes, I've read all posts I can find on this and nothing has helped. I've followed the SMC reset (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964) and can't zap PRAM since it doesn't even chime. Battery shows a full five lights and the MagSafe cord shows a green LED. I've tried all sorts of booting with just battery, just power, leaving both out overnight but can't get any sort of response. I don't hear any fan motion or HDD whirring up. The power button doesn't seem to be stuck though--it's flush with the case and still gives that slight tactile "click" when depressed. I checked that the RAM's set properly.
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Sep 14, 2010
I have a mac pro that I don't use anymore, and I am really really looking forward to F1 2010 coming out and want to get the PC version. Is it worth converting my 2 x Dual Xeon 5150 Woodcrest 2.66Ghz Mac Pro into a windows only gaming PC? Which is the best graphics card I can get for it that will work off the shelf? I don't need to go back into mac so it doesn't have to work in mac mode. Or would I be better off selling it and getting a windows PC purely for gaming? I'd rather not go through that hassle to be honest as I'm sure the Mac Pro should be able to work well with a decent graphics card?
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Dec 8, 2010
I've been considering buying one of the new Radeon video card kits and throwing it in my 2006 Mac Pro. I would prefer the 5870 but for the most part, the opinion online is that it wouldn't work. However, I came across this link: [URL:...] So what gives? How did barefeats pull it off? Could it have been using the boot drive really played such a role? I kept reading it couldn't be done due to the lack of EFI64.
Model Name:Mac Pro
Model Identifier:MacPro1,1
Processor Name:Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed:3 GHz
Number Of Processors:2
Total Number Of Cores:4
L2 Cache (per processor):4 MB
Memory:4 GB
Bus Speed:1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version:MP11.005C.B08
SMC Version (system):1.7f10
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Mar 13, 2009
I have a Mac Pro 2006 edition with an ATI 1900XT video card. This is working just fine, and I can boot into Mac OS X and Windows Vista via Boot Camp.
I just purchased a Sapphire 4870 video card. My plan was to remove the 1900XT and plug in the 4870, and always boot into Vista. I realize that since this card is not a "Mac" card I will not be able to use Mac OS X. I also expected from my reading that I would not be able to hold down the option key at boot time to select my boot drive. I figured if I had a need to get back into OS X, I'll put the 1900XT back in for that.
As long as the Mac is configured to boot Windows, I thought that this setup would work fine. With the 4870 I expected that I would hear the bootup gong and then eventually see Vista start to boot up.
So, with that in mind, I performed the switch last night. I removed the 1900XT and installed the 4870. I had to run an additional power lead from the spare molex connector by the DVD drive to the 4870 since it requires two power connections. The 1900XT only needs one.
I plugged everything in, and turned on the Mac. I heard the startup gong. So far so good.
Then, my screen turns almost completely white (a very light gray) and I see a blinking cursor in the upper left-hand corner. The hard drives begin to seek and it sounds like things are booting... however I never get to the Vista boot selection screen (I actually have two Vista installs on two separate drives, so I always get the boot selection screen to decide which drive to boot from.) I also never hear a Vista startup sound... it's almost as if it is booting into Mac OS X instead of Vista.
At this point I am stumped and I'm hoping somebody here in the forum knows what is going wrong. Does my 4870 not have enough power? Do I have to have a Mac-compatible video card plugged in even if I don't plan on using it? Is what I'm trying to do just impossible?
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Mar 29, 2009
*Apple officially supports 2 GB of RAM, but third-parties have been "unofficially" able to upgrade it to 3 GB or 4 GB of RAM (it can hold 4 GB but cannot fully utilize the memory beyond 3 GB).
Im thinking about adding that 2gb ram to make it 3gb. but i want to know what are the problems that i may face. Would i be void of apple warranty if anything happens?
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May 17, 2009
I know I posted this in several threads, but I'd thought I'd start a new one. I have a 2006-2007 Mac Pro 2.66 Quad-Core Xeon w/4GB of memory and 1GB ATI Radeon 4870 video card. I'd like to install 64-bit windows 7 on my system. However, because of the EFI32/64 limitation, and Apple stating that 64-bit isn't supported on anything less than 2008 model mac pros, can someone confirm that they have indeed installed 64-bit windows 7 RC on their mac pro? Also, provide a detailed set of instructions on how to do it.
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May 18, 2009
I'm curious if anyone else has this problem, and if so, how to fix it. First of all, I'm convinced this mac pro is a lemon, and it was supposed to get replaced on my last repair but the Apple Store decided not to. (Even after promising they would)
I've been through 4 ATI X1900XT graphics cards, a logic board, a super drive, and a failed hard drive. Basically, I've not been able to really use my Mac Pro since December 2008. It's been in and out of service consistently since then.
Anyways, I just got it back last night and was having problems keeping the airport connected. (BTW- it's done this before, but not since having my logic board replaced) It will pick up the signal, keep it for approx. 2 minutes, then drop it and "scan for networks" it will then find it again on it's own, and repeat the process over and over and over.
I figured it was possibly software so I went through the trouble this morning of doing an erase and install on the machine, and much to my dismay that did nothing to solve the problem. I am unable to update any of my software, which means I can't use Aperture (because my library is on 2.1.3 and my disc copy is 2.0) so I basically can't use the computer until this is addressed.
Has anyone else experienced this before? My mac pro is not far at all from our Airport Extreme Base Station (the first N version). My macbook get's full signal pretty much all the time. Even my iPhone does.
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Jun 11, 2009
My UPS is flaking out, and it's a really old one I got from work that was a 'server' class UPS.
I don't want to drop $999 on the thing, as that's what an equivalent of what I was using go for. However I want my battery to last more than oh, 30s so I hope to size it right.
Any experience from anyone running a UPS on one of these things? The UPS sites aren't much help and if the tech specs are to believed if it draws 12A at 120W that's a 1440W requirement for the power supply, and that seems a tiny bit high to me, but I might be wrong.
I'm running the 2.66GHz dual core, the ATI1900XL, and 4 500GB drives in it.
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Jun 26, 2009
I know they are technically different (speed) but can I put my Macbook Pro memory (default of 2GB RAM) in my wife white Macbook (default 1 GB RAM)? Probably not but I wanted to know if anyone has tried anyway.
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